Season 2025-26 is off to a 2-0 start for first year Wildcat head coach Brian Ortmeier as the Wayne State College women picked up a pair of neutral court victories to start the year.
From St. Joseph, MO, WSC won 55-39 against Emporira State on Nov. 14 followed by another defensive battle in a 48-46 victory over Northwest Missouri State on Nov. 15 during the Central Region Challenge.
During the win over Emporira State, the Hornets took a 12-6 lead after the opening 10 minutes before WSC used a 25-11 advantage the following quarter to lead 31-23 at half. The Wildcats then outscored Emporia State, 13-9 in the third and 11-7 in the fourth to win 55-39. There were four ties and five lead changes.
Senior Rachel Dahlen posted a double-double (6-11 FG/4-8 FT) with 16 points and 12 rebounds to go along with three assists, two steals and a block while senior Kylah vanDonkersgoed (5-14 FG/0-5 3PT/2-4 FT) added 12 points, seven boards and a steal. Graduate transfer (Idaho State) Tenleigh Smith hauled in 10 rebounds with her six points, four assists and two steals.
Other scoring was posted by sophomore Emma Frost (three boards, one assist, one steal) with seven points; senior Meg Rietz (nine boards, two assists, three steals) and redshirt junior transfer (Augustana) Kelsey Willems (one board, one steal) both tallied five points as senior Lily Fitzgerald tacked on four rebounds.
Five other Wildcats saw action with no points scored.
WSC shot 21-69 from the field (30.4%), 3-13 behind the three-point line (13%) and 10-20 from the charity stripe (50%).
The Wildcats outrebounded Emporira State, 56 to 37 including 24-8 on the offensive glass which led to 15 second chance points compared to seven points for Emporira. WSC scored 22 points off of 21 turnovers while the Hornets scored nine points off of 17 Wildcat turnovers. WSC won the battle in the paint (32-14) and bench points (16-11) while Emporira State won the fast break points (6-4).
In the victory against Northwest Missouri State, the Bearcats held a slight 10-9 lead into the second quarter where WSC used a 12-9 advantage to go up 21-19 at the break. Teams traded 14-13 scores in the second half (WSC in third, NWMS in fourth) for a final of 48-46. There were six ties and nine lead changes.
Double figure 10-point scoring came from Dahlen (5-18 FG/0-1 3PT/0-1 FT) using nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks along with Rietz (4-8 FG/2-3 3PT/0-1 FT) posting three rebounds. Smith recorded a team-high four assists to go along with five points, seven rebounds, a block and a steal.
Other scoring came from Willems (six boards, one assist, two steals) with eight points; sophomore transfer (Ellsworth CC) Ella Sharar (three boards, one assist, one block) added six points; vanDonkersgoed (four boards) tallied five points and Fitzgerald (three boards, one assist) tacked on four points.
WSC shot 18-60 from the field (30%), 6-15 behind the three-point line (40%) and 6-12 from the charity stripe (50%).
Both teams recorded 44 rebounds as NWMS won the offensive glass (17-15) as both teams scored seven second chance points. WSC scored four points off of 11 turnovers while the Bearcats scored 10 points off of 13 Wildcat turnovers. WSC won the battle in the paint (20-14) and bench points (18-17) while Northwest Missouri State won the fast Break scoring (2-0).
The Wayne State College women's basketball team is back on the road traveling to Liberty, MO on Nov. 18 at 5:30 p.m. facing William Jewell.
